Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1887-08-04

swelterlng mass bore the heat with adml
rable patience. The greatest interest was
| felt in the opening addresses OF the counsel
for the State and defense. Messrs. Hutch
inson and Braddock consumed the whole
| day i'll their arguments, and the attention
OF the audience never Tagged.
MIR. HUrCHNsoN's SPEECH
At ten minutes past 8 Mr.. Hutchinson
arose to commence the argument Tor the
prosecution. He said
Nav il please the court and gentlemen
of the Jury. You are all undoubtedly graft
| lied that we have come to this point III this
case. by the obligation which rests upon
you, you have assumed an important part
in the annals of human justice. The oath
you have taken is registered in the volume
of everlasting life. We stand upon holy
/ ground As the first human law-giyer
! took of his shoes from his feet, for he
stood on holy ground, SO you, gentlemen
of the jury, must throw aside the weights
of prejudice. We are here to investiL : ate
one of the most atrOciOus crimes ever com
mittrd IN the borders of West Virginia
| You find an old woman OF thTcesc0rc years
and ten, you find young woman the
wife Of this man, on Monday strong IN
| health, on that night drluged in blood
| There, beneath the foliage of the trees, a
| subtle devil came in and not only destroyed
the peace Of home, but took away the
| life which only God has in his keeping
| This indictment is for the murder of Mrs
McWha: the death of Mrs Baker comes in
| - a motive for the crime. ] Will call your
attention 10 some facts because all that
| has been brought into the case are not facts.
| The trips of the prisoner from the Cove To
| Cross Creek and back again have nothing
! to do with the matter. You must keep
! your minds fixed upon the bloody walls,
the glshed corpse in that lonely cottage
| These mute witnesses say that no stranger
did this deed; these inanimate witnesses
without tongues, without voice, proclaim
| in trumpet tones that there was no stranger
there To do this deed Would any stranger
| have known where Mrs. McWha's bed room
| was, Would a stranger know III which
| bed she slept? Would Il stranger take her
shoes from OH her feet and put her stock
| ings in them and set them in her room:
/ Would any stranger take off the
and after washiu. them in warm water
place them under her bed. There was 10
accident about it; II could not have been
by chance, because the testimony shows
that Mrs. MCWha was not killed III her
bed, but on the floor Would Il stranger
20 to the trouble of bringing in tub OF
water To soak the bloody marks and finger
stains from the clothes Of the murdered
victims? The work was not completed rs
the villain designed. He had tO hurry.
The bell rang and he was forced away.
WHY should Il stranger have done this?
Grimes are not committed in that way and
criminals do not 20 to 50 much trouble to
escape that kind of detection.
And then they say Il stranger did IT be
cIuse the axe and holt were there, but 4
stranger would not put the axe and holt
in the tub to soak OFF the bloody hair and
brains; and would stranger come 10 a
house for deed OF blood without bringing
some instrument along? What interest
could stranger have in trying to deceive
the public mind by clothing these bodies
in their night robes? stranger would
have fled without the open door with his
Ill gotten gains and lett his victims wcltcr-
ing in their blood on the floor. II it was
done by such Il one he was an escaped lu-
matte. What interest wOuld he have had
in dragging the wife from the room where
she fell and lay her across her mother
bosom? What was to be proved by that?
Ii was to prove that the
MOTHER DIED FIRST,
and why should y stranger with 40 motive
but plumber do this Why should he make
such a figure - this ont of the bloody
bodies 90 the floor Can he deceive yOu
by such nriarOu. tricks az these Again,
WHY should one come Ia murder for plum
der, search the house for riches or spoils,
and then sacrcdly refrain from touching
the two drawers containing the dead
baby'- cl thcs? These drawers were in
different bureaus in different rooms; This
rouId not he an accident Would it occur
once in a thousand times that any one
could do this Now, it is proved beyond
contradiction That the man who did this
truderlv avoided touching those drawers.
1t does not bear the impression of reason
that strangers committing murder for rob
berry should carefully avoid those very
things that the prisoner AT the bar
would not touch on account Of
his superstition. II there yet
remained in the heart of this man one
small. tender spot, it would he for that
little boy whose clothes were sacredly land
away. No woman ever fixed those
kitchen windows. Why lift was committed
al the night time should stranger 80 To the
tb,.. ,,-,nlnyrG "A
man wants to steal or rob he begins To
cover before he commits the murder.
Here we have n murderer who covers
after the deed. 1t was done to keep out
the ewes ofthe intruding visitor until he
could yet safe away to Short Creek. Not
only this, but he brought down the blinds
to the sitting room where the spots oihlood
are sprinklcd over the window.
He said in his guilty soul, ] will draw
down the blinds and change my clothes
and hide the evidences OF my crime, and
then will 20 to Cross Creek that may
cry murder" when | return, that some
one mad
KILLED MY WIFE AND MOTHER
and robbed me of my money.
What would any stranger know about the
number of people who lived here What
would he know about the habits OF the
people? But Van Baker knew; he was the
sworn protector of his wife; he knew their
habits and customs. And would any
stranger break into the house and ransack
il and leave the watches and earrings and
finger rings and breast pins sacred and I'M
disturbed a. they were? And we ask this
man here. the man charged with the mur-
der, what was lost and hesays, oh. have
lost $3.50 and some stock and letters from
my wife. Does not that crack smile he
hind the ribs Of death to ask Us TO believe
tba, stranger would sacredly pass by
everything belonging to the rest OF the
f,miIy and take only from the detendent:
wasn't he considerate murderer; kind
and considerate murderer:
Mr. Hutchinson then discussed the hndlng
of Bakers papers under the fence IN